kenzo

Kenzo's beautiful light brown voluminous bag is hard to resist. Filled with a healthy dose of texture, bronze rivets and various hues to make it interesting without seeming cluttered and overdone, the Kenzo Leather Bucket Bag ($1325) is a statement bag that could easily be worn daily.

The bottom half is styled in faux croc with a pair of zippered and flat pockets while the upper half has smooth calfskin leather with a magnetic flap closure. The double handle is heavily embellished with bronze rivets for a unique look. Personally, I would have done away with brass rivets because it places Kenzo's bag at the edge of looking overdone. Additional features include a detachable shoulder strap and double interior pockets.

The market for designer editions of premium retro hatchbacks has not been lacking for special editions, but can now count one more example in its ranks as French automaker Citroën and Japanese fashion house Kenzo have teamed up for a unique one-off.

The Kenzo edition Citroen DS3 features a unique retro motif applied to its roof and interior upholstery. Love it or hate it, however, the collaboration remains a one-off unavailable for purchase, much like the Yves St Laurent edition DS3 that preceded it.

Meanwhile, rival Mini's successive collaborations with the likes of Kenneth Cole, Calvin Klein and Agent Provocateur (to name just a few) have raised big bucks for AIDS research and awareness, while the Fiat 500 by Diesel is available on the open market.

Designer Kenzo Takada started painting ten years ago after he sold his Kenzo label to luxury goods company LVMH. Now he's showing off the fruits of his work at the Studio 55 gallery in Paris. The small exhibition of eight works feature the Japanese-born designer in a series of flower-printed kimonos. Kenzo is a also a collector of Asian art, furniture and antique kimonos. The exhibit runs through July 10.

[via AP]

Japanese fashion designer Kenzo has finally sold his beautiful house in Paris (it was our estate of the day in December 2007) and now he is selling off what's inside. His collections of Asian art, furniture and antique kimonos will go on sale through auctioneer Aguttes on June 16 and 17.

Given the high prices earned by recent sales of the collections of Yves Saint Laurent and Gianni Versace it is possible that this sale could earn far more than the 1.5 million euros to 2 million euros ($2.04 million to $2.73 million) it is scheduled to bring in. Items up for sale include a Chinese wooden horse dating from the Han era, around 100 AD, estimated at 100,000 euros, and two Chinese wooden funeral figurines dating from 500-300 BC, valued at 30,000 to 60,000 euros each.

Kenzo, who is now 70 years old, is moving into a new Paris apartment and is quoted by Reuters as saying he wants to "turn a page and live differently, more free, lighter."

Last Sunday's estate took us to Spain and the home of artist Joan Miro, this week we are looking at the Paris home of another type of artist, fashion designer Kenzo Takada. Takada, who built the fashion line Kenzo and sold it to LVMH in 1993, lives in a striking home located on the Right Bank between the Place de la Bastille and the Place des Vosges. The approximately 14,000-square-foot house is very East-meets-West with much of the design informed by traditional Japanese design with modern touches.

The International Herald Tribune recently ran a piece on the house which says that Kenzo built the home between 1987 and 1993 with the help of an architect friend. The four-level home has five bedroom suites including Kenzo's master bedroom suite which has two dressing rooms. The main house has a contemporary living room with an indoor lap pool, library, a professional kitchen used for large parties, a gym, sauna, hammam and two Jacuzzis. The home includes a mezzanine studio where Kenzo worked on his designs and also painted. The home has oak floors, an elevator and six fireplaces. There are also three staff apartments and parking spaces. The outdoor spaces here are delightful with several different levels of gardens. There is a tranquil garden with a fish pond and a cherry tree. There is also a Japanese-style pavilion that is furnished with traditional tatami mats and has one room dedicated to the tea ceremony.

This home is more like a private universe than a home built for one man with very precise tastes. I hate to use the word zen here but that is what comes to mind when looking at this amazing home. Kenzo decided to put the home on the market because it is now too big for him and he wants to find a more modest pied-à-terre instead. He is asking 12 million euros and it is listed through Emile Garcin.

[via WSJ Private Properties]